"It is still his house": Pep Guardiola returns to Etihad as Enzo Maresca talks up excitement before Man City vs. PSG

Enzo Maresca is excited to welcome back Pep Guardiola to the Etihad Stadium for Manchester City’s mouthwatering Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.

The Citizens enter this contest on the back of a statement 3-0 win at Liverpool on Sunday to preserve their perfect start to the season and remain top of the Premier League table.

City’s trip to Anfield was their first since they were found guilty by an independent commission of breaching Premier League financial regulations – the club strongly deny those claims and have since lodged an appeal.

Amid all the adversity and ‘noise’ surrounding the club, Maresca is focused fully on on-field matters and will endeavour to build on his exceptional start in the Man City hotseat, with eight successive wins across all competitions already in the bag.

The last time Man City started a new campaign with nine victories in a row was during Guardiola’s maiden season at the club in 2016-17.

Guardiola ended his legendary 10-year reign as Man City manager last season, but he will be in attendance for Wednesday’s showdown against PSG, returning to the Etihad for the first time since his departure.

Guardiola’s Man City return “exciting for everyone”

Maresca spoke about Guardiola’s return at a press conference on Tuesday, telling reporters: "I spoke with Pep, as I said a few days ago, after the [Man] United game. I didn't speak with him after that.

“In case he is coming, it is a nice feeling, especially for him, it has been his house for 10 years. It is still his house for what he has done here, I think it is exciting for everyone."

The Italian added: “I don't know his plan. I don't know if he is coming straight to the stadium or if he is coming to the training ground, I don't know - I don't have any idea. It is exciting for everyone, for the fans, but I don't know Pep's plans at the moment."

Guardiola, who now has a stand at the Etihad named after him, won 20 trophies during his time in charge of Man City, including the 2022-23 Champions League as part of a historic treble.

Maresca, who was a member of Guardiola’s backroom staff during that memorable season, is hoping to follow in the Catalan’s footsteps and steer the Citizens to another European triumph this term.

City kick-started the League Phase with a 2-0 away victory over Porto last month and Maresca is confident that his team can beat holders PSG if they deliver the “perfect game”.

“The message for tomorrow night is quite easy. We need the perfect game because they are the best team in Europe in this moment,” Maresca said.

Maresca: “If we play our best we can beat PSG”

“They won the last two Champions Leagues, so that shows how good they are, so we need the perfect game but at the same time, if we play our best we can beat them.

“I think we are for sure a good team, no doubts about that. Where we are in this moment compared to PSG... I don’t know to be honest.

“I know how good they are - in the last two years they won the last two Champions League, that shows how good they are. I am not sure how close or far we are but, for sure, we are a good team.”

Maresca continued: “We need to improve many things for sure - the way we try to attack and defend, no doubt we need to improve.

“In terms of our journey, we’ve won eight games in a row, and all were different. The last one at Anfield was different to the rest.

“Games where we were losing 0-1, Bournemouth and then we won, at Man United we had ten players. All different games but, for sure, winning games is the most important thing in our job.

“But for me it’s more day by day the things I can see from the players that are making me feel very happy.”

Man City can take confidence from having won four of their previous six Champions League encounters against PSG, including all three on home soil by an aggregate score of 5-1.